The finished product – Grilled Duck Breast with Charred Greens, Grapes and Celery

We recently purchased a new cookbook called “Slow Fires” by Justin Smille, chef of Upland. In reading the summary and the comments about the book on Amazon, we thought it would be a challenging but very wonderful cookbook.

Slow Fires by Justin Smille

Well if the first meal we prepared from this cookbook is an indicator of what is to come, it may surpass our Boulevard cookbook as one of my favorite cookbooks. The recipe took two days to prepare but the resulting meal was unbelievably favorable.

The meal is a combination of three separate recipes:

Grilled Duck Breast With Charred Greens, Grapes, And Celery
Garlic And Pine Nut Emulsion
Charred Greens With Green Grapes And Celery

How to Plan The Meal

• 1 day before: Rub duck and soak pine nuts.
• 90 minutes before: Make garlic and pine nut emulsion.
• 1 hour before: Temper duck and set up grill.
• 30 minutes before: Grill duck and greens. Prepare charred greens salad. Arrange platter.

This meal is really worth the time and effort and if you follow the detailed instructions, it is a can’t miss dinner. Serve it with a full bodied red wine to maximize the experience.

¡Buon appetito!